Hickory, N.C. — During a tour of the company's Ninth Street plant here, Hickory Chair President Jay Reardon and Vice President of Manufacturing Kevin Ward check a chart detailing cross-training efforts.
The color-coded chart indicates about half the training has been completed in the upholstery area. But upholstery spring-up operator Robbie Miller comes over to say more of the chart should be marked blue to show that most of the cross-training in his area is complete.
The news pleases Reardon and Ward. It lets them know their employees care enough to help improve plant operations. It's part of a process called EDGE, for Employees Dedicated to Growth and Excellence.
A way to stay competitive
Since it was conceived about four years ago, the continuous improvement program has encouraged employees to suggest and make changes to improve manufacturing. Those changes have occurred thanks to a combination of teamwork, data analysis, improved communications and insights from Miller and his fellow workers.
The changes are helping the plant remain competitive in a market flooded with imports. Today, Hickory Chair makes about 70% of its case goods and upholstery domestically, which means at least some stability for its more than 500 employees.
The company has lost about 200 employees in the past three years due to attrition and slow business, but Reardon said EDGE has helped avoid further layoffs. He declined to reveal specific figures, but said the company was profitable enough last year to meet parent company Furniture Brands International's standards and to pay its workers a bonus.
Sales volume was off earlier this year, but Reardon said it started to pick up in the second half.
Hickory Chair traces its history to 1911. It is now a division of Thomasville Furniture, which in turn is owned by Furniture Brands International.
EDGE is about more than domestic production, Reardon said. It's about responding to needs in the marketplace. It addresses three major areas related to customer satisfaction: complaints, credits and cost.
Reardon said the company has reduced its complaints at least 50% over the past two years and has cut returns, allowances and credits in half. The EDGE program also has helped the company keep costs level.
"We haven't raised prices in two years," he said.
EDGE also has helped reduce cycle times by 50%, speeding up deliveries. For instance, 94% of standard-finish wood products are in stock and available for delivery in as little as 24 hours. Products with custom finishes can be delivered in four to six weeks.
Previously, it took from two weeks to 20 weeks to deliver wood products, depending on the complexity of the design and finish.
Custom upholstery items ship in 14 to 21 days of order, compared with six to eight weeks four years ago.
Reducing delivery times and inventories has allowed Hickory Chair to develop new products, expanding its reach from the East Coast into the Midwest, Reardon said. It still offers classic 18th century looks with its Mount Vernon, James River and Winterthur lines, and has begun to appeal to a younger consumer with its more modern Thomas O'Brien collection.
EDGE was inspired by a similar lean manufacturing process at Greenwood, Miss.-based Viking Range. Viking's inspiration largely came from carmaker Toyota's production system, an employee-centered approach to improving operations. Hickory Chair has focused on fixing the process versus isolated problems. The idea is that problems in the plant will recur if the process isn't right.
One change was to make smaller cuttings of custom goods. The company also dropped 30% of its line from four years ago, replacing underperformers with those more in demand.
"We decided to be more flexible and quicker to adapt to market changes," Reardon said.
By making and shipping goods more quickly, the company also reduced the time it took to get paid for its product.
North Carolina State University's Industrial Extension Service and Catawba Valley Community College provided facilities and equipment to help cross-train employees. Staff at Hickory Chair trained employees in tasks they weren't used to performing.
Employees deserve most of the credit for the improvements under EDGE, Reardon said. When they see their ideas for changes implemented, it encourages them to keep making suggestions, he said.
In one case, employees decided it would be better to move the fabric swatch department closer to the sewing department, which was in the plant next door. That helped employees better communicate what was happening in each area, and also facilitated cross-training.
Employees also have driven changes to lower inventories of raw materials, creating a system to order parts as needed.
One employee suggested that chair legs be sanded after they come out of storage bins instead of before. That greatly reduced the 'muddy' appearance the wood often got from humidity that built up in the bins.
Production is tailored to customer demand versus forecasting. Employees smooth the production flow by communicating slowdowns or backups through a system of lights, bells and even wood tokens. Markings on the floor near each work area help guide production.
Finally, EDGE is allowing the company to consolidate two plants into one by the end of this year. Thanks to employee-driven changes that have reduced warehouse space, its newer plant on Ninth Street will have more manufacturing capacity.
Hickory Chair officials say EDGE will help the company evolve, meeting customer demands for quality and service.
"If we can take the waste out and give (product) to them in a lot less time than everyone else and the way they want it, that is the key," Ward said. "We're dedicated to sharpening the EDGE in years to come. If we continue to do that, we will be here a long, long time."
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